One Last Heist
by Drachesoul
Summary: The first thing Lexa Woods was taught was to never work with a team. Other people are liabilities. But the time to step out of the shadows has come when she sets her sights on stealing the Flame, a red diamond worth fifty million dollars, she realizes she can't do it alone. With a team by her side, maybe, just maybe, she call pull off one of the greatest heists in modern history.
1. Prologue

Author's Note: Inspired by a Tumblr Post written by user _reallygroovyninja._ Also known as oops, the plot bunnies ran free again, my bad.

 **One Last Heist-Prologue**

Lexa Woods knew that she shouldn't be thinking these thoughts. It's been months since her last heist and to be perfectly honest it just wasn't that much fun anymore. The rush of adrenaline after she made her daring escape with her prize wasn't there anymore, as if her body itself was tiring of the same old routine. But there was something about this jewel that began to ignite the flame in her heart again.

She gazed at the large red diamond that was perched almost reverently atop its silk display, three inches of bulletproof glass standing between her and the aptly named Flame. Lexa had done her research before walking into the exhibit, and was astonished by what she found. Diamonds as a rule were valuable, but red diamonds were among the rarest in the world, and this one was valued at well over fifty million dollars. Personally Lexa wasn't a fan of such extravagant jewelry, but the Flame's worth couldn't be denied.

Lexa paced around outside the security cordon, taking a quick glance at the defenses surrounding the Flame. No one would notice her, they never did. She had dressed in casual clothes, her jeans streaked with paint stains. Coincidentally, the gallery was located on a college campus, and a large group of art majors from St. John's College were due to visit the jewelry hall.

She shook her head to clear her mind of the intrusive whispers that were telling her to forgo her plans and commit one last heist. Whether or not she wanted to steal the Flame or not was of no importance. Even at first glance the gallery's security looked airtight—she was good but she wasn't _that_ good, and it was obvious that the gallery had heavily upgraded its defenses specifically for the Flame. This would be a team job and one of the first rules that had been drilled in her brain when she was taken under the wing of her mentor was to never, _never_ work with a team. Other people couldn't be trusted, their actions and motives weren't under her control and therefore were liabilities.

Still, a successful operation that lead to the theft of the Flame would net her a tidy profit. And she couldn't deny that the chance to step out of the shadows was tempting, especially after being in hiding for so long. Maybe she would consider it. Besides, it's not like she had much to do these days. Lexa glanced at the bronze placard that had been placed next to the Flame's display case and noticed that it would be at the museum for another month and a half before moving onto the next city.

Theoretically, if Lexa wanted to roll solo the best time to steal the diamond would be while it was in transit from one city to the next, but that plan required far too many moving parts and a large amount of resources that she didn't have. Time was also an issue here. Though her mentor's warnings were ringing her head to not even think about putting together a team, she didn't see any better options. Lexa would have to plan for contingencies for her contingencies, and she would have to triple check the people she hired. But still, the extra effort would more than pay off if they were successful.

A month and a half wasn't a lot of time to plan, outfit and execute a detailed heist, but it would have to do. The next city on the diamond's travel schedule was Washington D.C. and trying to steal something from the Smithsonian was suicide. If she had any chance of stealing the Flame, it would be while it was here in Annapolis.

The beginnings of a plan already were already forming in her mind, and as she examined the hall's layout and camera locations she was also on the lookout for any other…interested parties. The last thing she wanted to do was tangle with another crew and jeopardize her chances of making a safe getaway. Lexa spotted the usual security guards in their grey and white uniforms making their rounds, as well as what appeared to be a few undercover police officers in plainclothes casually walking around the exhibit, pretending to be interested in the collection. She scoffed under her breath, they tried to look inconspicuous but any thief worth their salt would be able to spot the shiny shoes or the almost unnoticeable bulge of a weapon underneath their shirts.

Lexa scanned the rest of the room and counted a total of seven undercover officers and four security guards. Eleven bodies to guard a single diamond seemed a bit much, but then again the Flame was worth fifty million dollars. It wasn't until she spotted an unusually alert gentleman in a dark blue suit that she realized she wasn't the only player.

Spotting people that didn't belong was one of the first things her mentor had taught her. Look for people whose expressions don't match their character, and watch for those who look either too invested or too disinterested. Examine their clothes, police officers and ex-military often wear them a certain way, as though no matter hard they try their training can't be deleted.

The target of her interest was experienced, probably ex-military of some sort judging by his close-cropped hair and ramrod-straight posture. It was a very distinctive posture. She walked around the exhibit until she found herself behind him, noting the earpiece that barely stuck out of his ear as he turned to exchange glances with a similarly sour-looking woman. Great, so there was definitely another group here. It's a good thing she was very, _very_ good at her job.

She bumped into the man with a muttered "Sorry", and calmly nicked the wallet from the front pocket of his pants. Opening the expensive calf leather wallet, she zeroed in on the man's ID card, confirming her suspicions and letting out a string of muffled curse words. The tough-looking man was a part of a well-known group of private investigators known as the Conclave, who had ties to shady mercenary corps. It all would have been irrelevant had this group not answered to her old mentor, Titus.

Titus. The name brought a bitter taste to her mouth as she thought about the man she once considered a father. He taught her everything she knew about being a thief, from properly casing the location to a clean getaway. While he was warm enough to her, he was known for being ruthless and Lexa couldn't bring herself to stoop to the levels he did. She wouldn't kill the people that got in their way, and it was that fundamental division of morals that led to her leaving. Their relationship deteriorated over time and after Lexa had almost gotten herself killed on a job gone wrong it had never recovered. Mentor and mentee drifted apart and now they were staunch rivals.

The fact that Titus—or rather one of Titus' goons—was here at the gallery meant that he was looking at something to steal from here. And Lexa could easily guess his target. She tossed the investigator's wallet in a nearby garbage can after wiping it down to rid it of any prints, but not before snagging the hundred dollars in cash he'd had. Once a thief, always a thief.

To summarize her findings, she had forty-five days to fully plan and execute perhaps her most daring heist yet, and find a group of people that she could stomach working with in order to pull everything off. She had to do this while taking into consideration the fact that her old mentor was likely also going after the Flame, though why he was disregarding his old rules to play in a team perplexed her.

Luckily, Lexa knew a few people. She'd used most of them in one way or another over the last few years, from buying tech to fake documents and the like. Lexa was unsure if they would agree to working with her, especially given her reputation and the danger level of the job, but she would reach out and see who answered.

Her scouting done for the day, Lexa left the Meyers-Mitchell Gallery, slipping seamlessly into a group of art students. Once she was far enough away from any prying eyes, she pulled out her cell phone—untraceable, of course—and dialed a familiar number.

She'd need a typical team composition for this job, a hitter, hacker, grifter and thief. The first three were easy, she already had people in mind for the position. The thief would be a little harder to find for obvious reasons, most preferred to stay in the shadows like her and cared little for the spotlight. Lexa looked back at the gallery with a grim smile.

 _Fine Titus. You wanna play? Let's play._

The phone on the other end rang twice and was promptly picked up.

"Hey, it's the Commander," a voice drawled. The sound of computer keys clicked on the line. "What do you need?"

"I wish you wouldn't call me the Commander, that name is so pompous I want to strangle the reporter who gave me that moniker. But listen Reyes, that's not why I called. I've got a job for you…"


	2. Chapter 1

The warehouse in the Artist District of downtown Annapolis was unassuming enough at first glance. Originally built as a storehouse for a local furniture company, when they went out of business the property was soon snatched up by one Raven Reyes. Or rather, one of the hacker's multiple shell companies snatched up the property.

She'd done a good job of renovating it, according to Lexa. As she walked up to the door, no less than eight surveillance cameras zoomed in on her. Lexa sighed, Raven always was one for dramatics.

"Good to see you, too Raven."

The tech genius's voice came flowing out of a speaker that had been bolted to the wall, and it sounded almost insulted. "Hey, I gotta keep up appearances, okay? Who knows, you could have been an undercover agent disguised as my best client."

"You're far too paranoid, but then again seeing as you haven't gotten caught yet, I suppose that's a good thing. Let me in."

"Yeah, yeah give me just a second." Lexa heard the sound of locks scraping and what sounded suspiciously like some kind of laser grid being turned off before the front door swung inward to reveal the face of Raven Reyes, hacker extraordinaire. "Long time no see, Woods."

Lexa was quickly ushered inside and made to sit on a lumpy couch that sat across from Raven's main computer setup. When she had first met the hacker, she got the impression that Raven watched far too many spy movies and television shows. A cascade of computer monitors surrounded a central desk with multiple keyboards and peripherals, all of which looked like they came straight out of a James Bond movie. Set up next to the far wall was a small server bank that was home to an incredible amount of illegally obtained data. The electricity bills for this place alone must be massive, Lexa thought.

"I'm sorry if I interrupted any of your work," she said, taking a quick glance at one of Raven's monitors and stifling a snort. "But it looks like I needn't have worried."

Raven followed her friend's gaze and quickly minimized the window that was displaying her Sims 4 game. "What? A girl's gotta have pastimes too. And I sure as hell am not paying 250 bucks for all the Sims 4 downloadable content. What's on your mind?"

Lexa reached into her messenger bag and pulled out a manila folder, handing it to Raven and sitting back on the couch. "It's called the Flame."

Raven whistled as she examined the glossy photo of the red diamond. "And you want to get your hands on this? Gotta say, this is one hell of a score, even for you. I thought you were never that into gemstones."

"It's not about the stone itself, though a payday to the tune of fifty million dollars is tempting. I do these things for the—"

"For the thrill of the crime, yeah I know. You know for one of the world's best thieves you're incredibly boring," Raven interrupted. She took a look at the rest of the folder's contents, which included pictures of the gallery's security and a set of blueprints that had been swiped from city hall. "You've been out of the game for a while now though, this is one hell of a way to get back in."

"I know, that's why I'm looking for a team." Lexa stumbled over the words, which had Raven raising her eyebrows in barely disguised surprise. "Before you say anything like 'Where's Lexa Woods and what have you done with her?' let me just say that this is my last hurrah."

Raven snorted, "Yeah I've heard that one before."

"I'm serious, Raven. I found some of Titus's people at the gallery too, this is the best opportunity I've had in over a year. I want to steal the Flame right out from under that bastard's nose, prove that I'm the better thief and then retire somewhere nice," Lexa said.

Raven set the pictures down and stared at Lexa, almost as if she was judging the sincerity of her words. "Huh. You're serious. Okay, let's say I do this with you, _hypothetically_. We still need two others at minimum and I'd prefer three. You've never been a team type of girl, can you put aside your ego to work as a group?"

Lexa huffed, she didn't have _that_ big of an ego. Her confidence was well-deserved after many successful years in the business, and if others saw her as cold, unflinching and rude that was their problem. "Of course I can Raven, I'm a professional."

"Ah fuck it, fine. I'm in." Lexa couldn't help the grin that followed and she reached over to shake Raven's hand. "What's more, I think I have the perfect person to be your muscle."

Raven led Lexa down a hallway and through a set of doors, where a gym had been set up. With Raven being Raven, it was filled with the newest machines and equipment, and a small boxing ring had been erected in the center. A woman that appeared to be several years older than Lexa was warming up in the ring and as Lexa turned to look at Raven she saw how the hacker's face lit up with happiness.

"Lexa, I'd like you to meet my better half and the only woman who's ever been able to get me to shut up," Raven said. Lexa smirked at the genuine smile Raven gave her girlfriend, inwardly marveling at the sheer amount of patience the woman must have for dealing with all of Raven's crazy.

"You're Lexa? I've heard a lot about you. Name's Anya, it's nice to meet you." Anya walked over to the edge of the ring and held out her hand. Lexa shook it and was immediately impressed by her strength. Hell, if Raven and Anya weren't already disgustingly happy together she'd be tempted to get to know the older woman. She had a thing for strong women.

"And you as well," Lexa was too busy staring at Anya's toned arms and tripped over her words. Raven smirked.

"I know, Lex. She's hot." Raven dodged the half-hearted slap as Lexa tried to compose herself. "Anya here's ex-special forces."

Anya nodded, "I spent six years with the Army's Special Forces before being tapped for the CIA. I specialize in hand-to-hand combat though I'm proficient in both short and long-range firearms."

"Impressive," Lexa admitted. She'd met plenty of ex-military before, but something about Anya seemed to be more...deadly, for lack of a better word. The woman didn't carry herself like a highly-trained soldier, and didn't display any of the characteristics she'd been taught to identify. "I hate to ask, but what brought you out of the military and to Raven?"

Its not that she didn't trust Raven's character judgement, but it seemed like her plan was falling in place a little too perfectly. A combat specialist _and_ a top-notch hacker in one location? It almost seemed too good to be true. There had to be _something_.

"I won't bore you with the gory details, but let's just say my eyes were opened to some of the questionable things governments do in order to keep the general peace. Too much politicking. I came to Raven to ask for her help in getting some information to the public, and things went from there."

Lexa noticed that Anya smoothly avoided any specific details, but decided not to question her further. At least not now. Anya was the perfect person she was looking for, and she didn't want to ruin her chances by asking probing questions. There would be time for that later.

"You seem like a very good fit for the job I had in mind. I do have to ask though, at one point you were involved with the law, how do you feel about stealing a fifty million dollar diamond?"

Anya chuckled. "Right to the point I see. Fair question, if you had asked me that five years ago I'd have arrested you on the spot. All you have to do now is look at my girlfriend and you have your answer."

"Hey, are you calling me a filthy criminal?!" Raven huffed.

"Yes. Yes I am," Anya winked at Raven and turned back to Lexa as Raven jokingly stomped her foot and left, probably to go back to her Sims game. "I feel like you're offering me a challenge, and I admit I've been itching for a challenge. How long do we have to plan?"

At this, Lexa grinned. "About a month and a half. And we still need two other people: one who specializes in grifting and one in thieving."

Anya nodded thoughtfully, ducking under the ropes and heading to a pair of lockers. She pulled out a cell phone and tapped out a message. "I don't have any grifter contacts, at least none that I'd trust with a job this scale. You'll probably have to ask Raven for that one, but I _do_ know how to contact one of the best thieves in the business."

Anya showed Lexa a picture she had pulled up on her phone and Lexa's jaw dropped. It was a three-person selfie that had been taken in front of the Smithsonian museum in Washington DC. What made it different though was that Anya and the others were standing in front of a police cordon as a sea of detectives and officers worked inside. An exhibit banner being flown from the entrance touted the arrival of a large collection of Egyptian artifacts. She didn't know the attractive looking male that was standing next to Anya but she sure as hell knew the younger woman standing beside him, she'd seen plenty of police sketches.

"That's…"

"Yep. That's the Red Queen, better known as my future sister-in-law Octavia Blake. One of the greatest shadow thieves in modern history. She's engaged to my brother Lincoln." Anya looked smug.

"Your brother Lincoln is a very brave man," Lexa said seriously. The Red Queen was responsible for multiple high-profile thefts, the media had given her that moniker for the callsign she always left at the scene of the crime: a single scarlet chess piece. "If you can contact her and pass along my offer I'd very much appreciate it, Anya."

The other woman smiled. "Of course. I can't guarantee that she'll take the offer but with a target as valuable as the Flame I think it's safe to say she'll be interested. Come on, let's go find my incorrigible other half to see if she has any leads on a grifter."

Lexa and Anya returned to the main room in time to hear Raven arguing with someone on the phone. "Don't be like that, I don't care if you like it, it's gross! Ugh, fine be that way. I'll see you in five, you better bring the one I like too."

"Ugh, grifters these days. So high-maintenance. I take it you two have come to an agreement?"

Lexa and Anya nodded. "Anya's going to contact our potential thief, and we'll go from there. Were you talking to a potential grifter?"

"Yeah, I think she'll fit right in with this ragtag little group we've got. She'll be here in just a few minutes, I was lucky enough to catch her while she's between cons. Do you have a place to stay while you're in town, Commander?"

"I've got a hotel room downtown."

"Nah fuck that, you're gonna stay here at the warehouse with us," Raven said, and she looked like she wouldn't take no for an answer. Lexa had to admit it would be a good idea to temporarily move in with her teammates, though she sent up a silent prayer that Raven's bedroom was soundproof. The last thing she wanted to hear is her hitter and hacker getting it on together. "And yes, my rooms are soundproof you perv."

There was a knock on the door and Raven swiveled around in her chair to check the security feeds before unlocking everything. "Perfect, right on time. Lexa, Anya, I'd like you to meet our grifter."

Lexa's heart stopped as the most beautiful blonde she's ever seen in her life stepped into the warehouse, carrying several boxes of pizza in her hands. "I can't believe you won't eat Hawaiian pizza Raven, now I have to eat this whole thing by myself."

Raven tutted, getting up from her chair to help the new arrival with the food. "Everyone with a brain knows Hawaiian pizza is an abomination." She paused. "Anya likes it though, she'll help you out."

The wry smile the blonde gave Raven before turning to look right at Lexa made her heart flutter again. _Stop it, it's just a pretty girl, you've seen plenty._ "Hi. I'm Clarke Griffin. I heard you were looking for a grifter."


End file.
